Each weekday on this blog you will find an episode of a western short story featuring Rance Dehner, a detective who operates in the old West. When the story concludes, it will be archived for those readers who prefer to read a story from start to finish.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

The detective eyed Enoch
and Kate. “Ah, when I’m through at the General Store would you two mind--”

“We’d
love to look after Pixie!” Kate interrupted.

Dehner
paused, obviously rethinking his request. Enoch understood why. He reached
under the counter of the store and brought out a Henry. “A store owner can’t be
too careful. Before marrying Kate, I worked as a barkeep. Handled plenty of
rough customers. Anybody that tries to harm the girl will have a fight on their
hands.”

Episode Four

“Mr.
Harper, I’m here to clean the stables for ya.” A pudgy man of medium height
entered the store. He was wearing a battered Stetson, a shirt with two buttons
missing, and shiny brown pants. Much of his face was covered with black and
gray stubble.

“Go right ahead, Laszlo. I don’t
think I’ll have any work for you in the store today.”

Laszlo smiled at Pixie, revealing
several broken teeth. “Pretty little girl.” He looked back at Enoch, who nodded
his head.

“I’ll get to work now.” Laszlo clomped
out of the store.

Several moments of silence followed
Laszlo’s departure, then Enoch shook his head and explained in a low voice. “No
one seems to know why Laszlo is the way he is. But he’s a good worker. Laszlo
is a swamper for the town’s largest saloon. He also cleans our stable out back
and does a few chores around the store. We can’t pay him but we let him sleep
in the stable.”

“He also comes to church with us on
Sunday,” Kate added. “And he has supper with us a few times a week.”

The detective was glad that Laszlo lived in a
town like Candler. In larger cities, people like Laszlo were often ignored.
Dehner nodded his head and took Pixie by the hand. “We’ll be right back.”

The Bushrod Brothers’ General Store
was located across the street from Harper’s Mercantile but seemed to be located
in a different world. The place looked dilapidated. Even from a distance, Dehner could tell that
the inside of the store had a look of disrepair and negligence.

As he stepped inside, he noted that
the store had one customer, a dapper looking older man in a brown suit and
matching derby. On second glance, Dehner wasn’t sure the gentleman was a
customer. His face indicated that,
whatever his status, he was not happy. As the well dressed gent turned to walk
out, a stocky man with thick red hair grabbed a stick of licorice and ran after
him.

“Here Mr. Candler, have some
licorice on the house! Remember when you was just a boy and somethin’ sweet to
eat would make everythin’ better?”

Judging by the scowl on his face,
Mr. Candler did not appreciate the reminiscing. “When I became a man I put away
childish things,” he proclaimed.

The man holding the licorice stick
beamed in an approving manner. “Good thinkin’, Mr. Candler. This town needs
more men like you. Men who are well versed in the Good Book! I’ll tell that to
the preacher…ah…next time I see him.”

Mr. Candler stomped out of the
Bushrod Brothers’ General Store. The red headed gent with the licorice stick
shook his head, “The way that man acts, you’d think his family owns the town.”

“They do,” came a shout from behind
the counter. “This is Candler, Arizona, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” the redheaded man took a
bite of the licorice stick as he smiled at Dehner.

There were quick introductions all
around. Rance learned that the man with the licorice was Rupert Bushrod, and
the man behind the counter was his brother Clarence. The men were twins, and
could easily have passed for each other except for Clarence’s thinning hair and
receding hairline.

“Sorry you had to arrive when we
were so busy, Rance.” Rupert leaned against the counter as he took a final bite
of the candy. “Mr. Candler is the town banker. He’s a might irritated with
Clarence and me…or is that Clarence and I…because we ain’t made our payments of
late.”

“It’s ‘Clarence and me’, Dehner
instructed, then asked, “You mean you haven’t been able to make your mortgage
payments?”

Clarence
shrugged his shoulders. “Right now there are so many payments we are behind on,
you can pretty much take your pick. We got lots of payments, not many
customers. Most folks prefer to shop at Harper’s Mercantile. Can’t figure out
why.”

Rupert
held up an index finger, “Maybe it’s cause the Harpers are more helpful, their
store is cleaner and their prices lower.”

Clarence
nodded his head in a thoughtful manner, “Guess that could have somethin’ to do
with it.”

The Posse

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Bio

As a kid, I idolized Hopalong Cassidy, which was the most intelligent choice I made during my first thirty years. Much of my professional life has been spent as a literary agent, but I also wrote westerns to prove I didn’t always have to live off the work of other people.
I can now devote myself full time to writing in a genre I love. I’m being a straight shooter when I say your opinion is important to me. When you have a moment, let me know what you think about Wild West Detective. Alas, the western genre has been riding over some tough territory for several decades. I hope this site can bring new folks into the corral and give them a taste of the fun that the western has given me.
jamesclay20@gmail.com